The United Nations flag waves during preparations for the UNGA 2023 at the United Nations headquarters in New York City.
Miguel J. Rodríguez Carrillo/Corbis via Getty Images
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Miguel J. Rodríguez Carrillo/Corbis via Getty Images
The United Nations flag waves during preparations for the UNGA 2023 at the United Nations headquarters in New York City.
Miguel J. Rodríguez Carrillo/Corbis via Getty Images
The United Nations warns the world is very close to crossing a dangerous climate change threshold in a new report.
Countries agreed in the 2015 Paris Agreement to try to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit. Beyond that, the risks of a hotter planet get much worse. Storms become more intense, sea levels keep rising and there are major impacts on crops.
A new report from the United Nations Environment Programme finds that countries have failed to meet that agreement. To limit the damage, emissions from burning fossil fuels need to drop to zero – and carbon emissions may even need to be sucked out of the atmosphere.
Either way, the report warns that countries will need to prepare for worsening disasters due to climate change.
An NPR editor adapted this audio report by Lauren Sommer.